Such a guide bar for a chainsaw is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,410. The guide bar is made of a one-part, elongate main body made of steel, on the opposite circumferential peripheries of which a guide groove for the engagement of drive links of a saw chain is formed. The main body has a connection section to be secured to the chainsaw, and a bar tip which serves to return the saw chain circulating on the guide bar. Provided in the main body is a cutout in the form of an elongate window, which extends from the connection section as far as the bar tip between the circumferential peripheries of the guide rail. The window in the guide bar is filled with an insert made of a fiber composite material which can be made of resin-saturated fiber layers.
A guide bar, constructed in such a way, for a chain saw has a low weight but nevertheless has sufficient strength with respect to bending loads, compressive loads, wear and torsional loads. If such guide bars are used for their intended purpose, they have proven successful in practice. However, overloads result in damage to the composite made up of the main bar body and the fiber composite material, and this can result in the guide bar failure.